2017 Reunion – Indianapolis, Indiana

August 31st to September 3, 2017

Click HERE for a Fillable Registration Form.

Click HERE for a Fillable Flight Form for Airport Pickup.

Important Notice on Reunion Book Sales:

All book sales will be restricted to Liberty Hall (Main Hospitality Room). There will be
No book sales in the hallways or Atrium areas. There will be another group using the
Grand Ballroom from Weds-Fri while the MRFA is there. No exceptions is the Rule!

2017 Reunion
Plan of the Day

 

Dress Code: Dress is to be comfortable. Always wear a pair of comfortable shoes if you plan on visiting the local sites. Most of all, just come and have a great time.

Individual Hospitality Rooms: Opening and closing of the individual hospitality rooms will be up to the different units.

Registration: When making a reservation through one of the reservation departments all you have to do is mention that you are with the “MRFA“.  Service Dogs are allowed at all 3 hotels:

Marriott East: (Main Hotel – No Pets Allowed)
317-352-1231 or 800-991-3346

*** WE HAVE FILLED ALL OF THE ROOMS AVAILABLE IN THE MARRIOTT.  ***
*** MAKE RESERVATIONS WITH ONE OF THE MOTELS BELOW THAT ARE VERY CLOSE TO THE MARRIOTT. ***

Standard Room – $82.00/Night
Patio Room – $97.00/Night
One Bedroom Suite – $112.00/Night
Presidential Suite: – $132.00/Night

Florence Garden: (Formerly La Quinta – Pets Allowed – $50.00 Deposit)
317-359-1021

All Rooms – $69.00/Night

Fairfield Inn & Suites: (No Pets Allowed)
317-322-0101  

All Rooms – $74.00/Night

[ Note: Volunteers are appreciated.  See Frank Jones. ]

Products Sales: MRFA Products will be available at the 2017 Reunion.

MRF & 9th Infantry Division Museum Room: The room will be open from 10 am to 5 pm daily. Bob Pries and Dave Lull watch over the room and answer any questions.

MRFA Memorial and Museum Trailer: Will be open for display from 10 am to 5 pm daily.

From the Delta to the DMZ Dance: Will be held Friday Evening – September 1st. There will be a DJ playing your favorites of the ‘60s and ‘70s music.

Guest Speakers: Will begin at 9:30 am on Saturday September 2nd preceding the Memorial Service.

Memorial Service: Will be held Saturday morning at 11.00 am along with the “Missing Man Ceremony”.

Flags and Certificates: Will be presented to widows, sons and daughters of our fallen brothers from Vietnam. Also to the relatives, who will be in attendance, of those who have passed since Vietnam.

Daily Raffles: Our Raffle Queen, Mable Springer and her staff, will do the Raffles and 50/25/25 Raffle.

Additional Events: Will be published in the Summer issue of “River Currents.”

Daily Lunch: Lunch will be served on the outdoor oasis area on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. (Cheeseburger – $5.00, Chicken Sandwich – $5.00, Bratwurst w/Kraut – $5.00, Hot Dog – $4.00, Bag of Chips – $1.00 and Soft Drink – $2.00.)

Schedule of Events:

[ Note: Volunteers are appreciated. See Frank Jones. ]

Thursday, August 31, 2017:

* 7:00 a.m. Liberty Hall Hospitality Room opens.
* 9:30 a.m. Registration hosted by George “Duke” Marthenze and his staff (setup outside Liberty Hall).
* 9:30 a.m. Product sales hosted by Chet “Gunner” Stanley and his staff.
* 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MRF and 9th Infantry Division Museum Room hosted by Bob Pries and Dave Lull in Salons A & B.
* 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – MRFA Memorial and Museum Trailer will be open for display hosted by Bruce Graff (contact person and driver) and
Charlie Ardinger.
* 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Raffle tickets available from Mable Springer (Raffle Queen) and her staff.
* 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Luncheon will be served on the patio (If it rains, will serve inside).
Note: Members and guests pay for their own meals.
(Beer will be supplied on patio at no cost. Cheeseburger – $5.00, Chicken Sandwich – $5.00, Bratwurst w/Kraut – $5.00, Hot Dog – $4.00, Bag of
Chips – $1.00 and Soft Drink – $2.00. Condiment bar to include ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, buns and watermelon slices.)
* 10:00 p.m. – Liberty Hall Hospitality Room closes.

Friday, September 1, 2017:

* 7:00 a.m. – Liberty Hall Hospitality Room opens.
* 9:30 a.m. – Registration
* 9:30 a.m. – Product sales
* 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Shopping at Castleton Mall. Sign up at front desk for shuttle. First come, first serve basis.
* 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Raffle tickets available from Mable Springer (Raffle Queen) and her staff
* 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – MRF and 9th Infantry Division Museum Room
* 10:00 am to 5:00 pm – MRFA Memorial and Museum Trailer will be open for display
* 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Luncheon on the patio (If it rains, will serve inside)
Note: Members and guest pay for their own meals.
(Beer will be supplied on patio at no cost. Cheeseburger $5.00, Chicken Sandwich $5.00, Bratwurst w/kraut $5.00, Hot Dog $4.00, Bag of chips
$1.00, Soft drink $2.00.)
* 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Delta to DMZ dance with a DJ playing your favorites of the ‘60s and ‘70s music held in the Grand Ballroom. Board Member
Frank Jones and wife Linda will be hosting the dance. No dress code.
* 10:00 p.m. Liberty Hall Hospitality Room closes

Saturday, September 2, 2017:

* 7:00 a.m. – Liberty Hall Hospitality Room opens.
* 9:30 a.m. MRFA Reunion Program

Master of Ceremonies (Gunners Chet Stanley and Don Blankenship)
Pledge of Allegiance John Richardson
Gold Star Family Recognition
Harry Hahn
Flag and certificate ceremony (Gunner Chet Stanley will present flags and certificates to widows, sons, or daughters of our fallen Brothers from
Vietnam and those who have passed on since who attend the reunion)

Restroom break for 15 minutes

Memorial Service:

• Church Call (Boats Charlie Ardinger)
• Invocation (Reverend Larry Lyons)
• Don Blankenship
• Missing Man Ceremony (Harry Hahn)
• Reading of names of those who have passed away since the last reunion (Don Blankenship and Roy Moseman)
• Don Blankenship
• Memorial Prayers for our Departed Brothers and Sisters and Eulogy (Reverend Larry Lyons)
• Taps (Roy Moseman)
• Last Minute Announcements (Chet Stanley)

* Noon to 1:30 p.m. Luncheon on the patio (If it rains, will serve inside).
Note: Members and guest pay for their own meals.
(Beer will be supplied on patio at no cost. Cheeseburger $5.00, Chicken Sandwich $5.00, Bratwurst w/kraut $5.00, Hot Dog $4.00, Bag of chips
$1.00, Soft drink $2.00).
* Noon to 2:00 p.m. – Product Sales
* 2:00 p.m. – Raffle drawings
* Gun Raffle to be held after the Raffle Drawings
* 2:30 p.m. to ???: Visiting with former Ship/Crewmates and Soldiers as well as Family and Friends.
* 10:00 p.m. – Liberty Hall Room closes

Sunday, September 3, 2017: 

Check out – Goodbyes, Heading Home and Drive and Fly Safely…!

If you have any Questions or Input then please contact our MRFA Secretary/Reunion Coordinator:

Frank Jones
popsaroni@sbcglobal.net

Cell: 314-303-2730
Home: 314-822-1230

Indianapolis Attractions:

Medal of Honor Memorial: In June 1998, a New York Times reporter attended the annual meeting of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in upstate New York. He wrote about its members and the courageous acts that earned them our nation’s highest award for military valor. Eight hundred miles away, John Hodowal, chairman of the Indianapolis-based energy company IPALCO Enterprises, and his wife, Caroline, read the article. They were so moved by the story that they began thinking of ways to bring broader recognition to these extraordinary individuals. They and the IPALCO staff began doing research on these men and the lack of widespread awareness of their valor. While conducting this research, IPALCO officials learned that no memorial had ever been built to recognize the 3,436 Americans who had received the Medal of Honor. As a result of this startling discovery, IPALCO decided not only to bring the Medal of Honor recipients to Indianapolis, but also to build them a memorial that would provide lasting recognition.

Site preparation for the Indianapolis Medal of Honor Memorial began in November 1998 and construction began in January 1999. The Memorial was unveiled and dedicated May 28, 1999, with 96 Medal of Honor recipients present. Located on the north bank of the Central Canal in White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis, the site is adjacent to the Military Park. The city’s first recorded Fourth of July celebration was held there in 1822. During the Civil War, it was a military camp used for the recruitment and training of troops.

The memorial is a group of 27 curved glass walls, each between 7 and 10 feet tall. The walls represent the 15 conflicts, dating back to the Civil War, in which acts of bravery resulted in the awarding of the Medal of Honor. Information about the 3,436 medal recipients are etched into the glass walls. Steps, benches, and a grassy area provide seating for visitors. Each day at dusk, a sound system will play 30 minutes of recorded war stories about medal recipients and their acts. As each story is told, lights illuminate a portion of the memorial to highlight the war or conflict being discussed. Most of the stories have been recorded by Medal of Honor recipients.

Materials: A concrete base, curved blue/green plate glass panels, aluminum and stainless steel supports, Indiana limestone in shades of buff, gray and pink.

Designers: Architectural landscape artists Eric Fulford and Ann Reed of ROAMworks, an Indianapolis landscape design firm. The firm also is working on projects at the Eiteljorg Museum and in Broad Ripple Village in Indianapolis.

Sponsor: IPALCO Enterprises, an Indianapolis-based energy company, proudly donated the Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial to the country and each Medal of Honor recipient. IPALCO Enterprises, Inc., One Monument Circle, Indianapolis, IN 46204, Mailing address: PO Box 1595, Indianapolis, IN 46204-1594. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument is a 284-feet tall monument built from gray limestone and bronze in a neoclassical style in the center of Indianapolis, Indiana. The structure commemorates Hoosiers who were veterans of the Indiana War (1776 to 1865). The Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum is in the monument’s lower level while a 30-foot statue of “Victory” tops the obelisk. The view of the surrounding area from the 250-foot high observation deck is simply spectacular. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana (an enclave of Indianapolis), is the home of the most famous race in the world, the Indianapolis 500.
It has existed since 1909 and is the original “Speedway,” the first racing facility historically to incorporate the word. With a permanent seating capacity for more than 257,000 people and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000, it is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in history (by comparison, the world’s largest stadium seats 150,000 spectators). Considered relatively flat by American standards but high-banked by Europeans, the Motor Speedway is a 2 1/2 mile, nearly rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its inception: four 1/4 mile turns, two 5/8 mile long straightaways between the fourth and first and second and third turns, and two 1/8 mile short straightaways, termed “short chutes,” between the first and second, and third and fourth turns.

A modern infield road course, constructed between 1998 and 2000, includes the southern parts of the oval to create a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) track. Altogether, the current grounds have expanded from an original 320 acres (1.3 km²) on which the Speedway was first built to cover an area of over 559. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, it currently remains the only such landmark to be affiliated with automotive racing history since its inception.

Besides the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (formerly Brickyard 400) also takes place there. The Speedway also hosted the United States Grand Prix for Formula One from 2000 to 2007, the inaugural race drew an estimated 225,000 which set a Formula One attendance record. It was also the venue of the opening ceremonies for the 1987 Pan American Games.

Between August 19, 1909, and July 29, 2007, 226 automobile races took place, with 125 separate drivers winning. After winning the Grand Prix in 2006, Formula One driver Michael Schumacher holds the record for most victories among the 500, 400, and Grand Prix with five, although all having come on the infield road course. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears each won four times in the Indianapolis 500 on the rectangular shaped oval track, and Jeff Gordon has also won four times on the oval in the Brickyard 400. No driver to date has won any combination among the three events, with only one driver (Juan Pablo Montoya) having competed in all three.

On the grounds of the Speedway is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, which opened in 1956, and the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort, which originally opened as the Speedway Golf Course in 1929.
~ Medal of Honor Memorial ~
~ Indianapolis Motor Speedway ~
~ USS Indianapolis (CA-35) Museum
~ Indiana War Memorial Museum ~
~ American Legion National Headquarters Located on the down Mall. Free tours of the building to include the Museum and Library ~

Albert Moore – President (MRFA)
Roy Moseman – Vice President (MRFA)